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| Kathmandu, Thursday March 06, 2003 Falgun 22, 2059. |
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Sherpas, Tibetans welcome Year
of Water Sheep
By Tejasuee Rajbhandari
KATHMANDU, March 5: It is yet another Lhosar for
the Sherpas and Tibetan community members, who hail from the high Himalayan foothills. The
vicinity of the Bouddhanath stupa, also called mini-Tibet of Nepal, wears a festive look
and colourful prayer flags flutter with the wind adding to its beauty.
At the very entrance of the stupa are men and
women selling lime powder for the devout Tibetans and Sherpas, who use it to colour the
stupa. At another corner, ethnic Tibetans in their traditional colourful attire are seen
dancing ‘shyabro’ , a customary dance of Tyopa Tibetans.
This is Lhosar, which is celebrated by Tibetans,
Sherpas, and other Tibeto-Burmese ethnic communities. The week-long festivities started
Monday, the first day of the Tibetan New Year 2130, the year of Water Sheep.
The Chinese calendar has a cycle of twelve years
and each is named after an animal – such as mouse, bull, cow, tiger, rabbit, cat,
dragon, divine eagle, serpent, horse, sheep, monkey, hen, dog and pig.
"This is the most important festival for us
as we receive the blessings from our elders and we too can extend our best wishes to our
friends and families", says a Sherpa residing in Bouddhanath stupa.
The preparation for the festival usually starts
quite early and houses are thoroughly cleaned and often coloured as well. At the same time
prayer flags atop their houses are also replaced wishing for better year ahead.
Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetans,
also greeted Tibetans on the occasion of the New Year from Dharmashala in India.
The day is welcomed by performing pujas and
feasting together. They prepare a special kind of delicacies like khapse and chemmar
especially for the festival.
Nepal National Dorge Shugden Society organised a
special cultural programme here today to mark the Lhosar festival. Several worshippers of
Dorge Shugden, a Tibetan deity, locals and high Tibetan monks, including Rimpoche Lamas,
were present at the colourful programme.
It is believed that the tradition to celebrate
Losar started only after the birth of Tibetan King Nagshi Chambo.
Dancing and singing is also a part of the
festival and the people wherever they form group express their joy through dancing.
The Sherpa community members in the capital city
are organising cultural and various other programmes in the coming days to mark the 2130
New Year. Just like their Tibetan brethren, the Sherpas can be seen moving around in a
festive mood, wearing traditional attire. And one can hear them wishing Lhosar Tashi
Delek!
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